Washing-machine.



R. W. AT.-

WASHING MACHINE. miniem@ im om a. im.

Patntd Dee. 1, 1914.

.N @Al l Il INVENTOR orne s.

ma@ a R. W. DAVIS.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 3, 1912.

1,1 19,5?8, Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: IN VEN TOR THE MORRIS PETERS C0 PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON, D. C

Rl W. DAVIS.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 3. 1912.

1,1 19,578. Patented Dec. 1,1914.

3 SHEETS*SHBBT 3. g 752 F/G 3)', 5gg-I /64 4l/ H 11|'- 3 !1'\5 WIT/VESSES: IN VEA/TOR THE MORRIS PETERS Co., PHOTO LITHO.. wASHlNGroN. n, C.

, UNiTED STATES PATENT onirica.

ROBERT W. DAVIS, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

'automatically feeding clothes into contact WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1914.

Applicatoiiled Getober 3, 191.2. Seriall No. 723,769.

'To all whom; it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT W. Devis, a

fprospective citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Chicago, in the county of Cook gand'State of Illinois, have invented certain 'new and useful Improvements in Washing- Machines, of which the following is a speciwith washing members;. mechanism. for

operating washing members in conjunction` ,with one another and relatively adjustable 20 bing over the, clothes soap or any other suitin speed of movement; mechanism for rubable saponaceous body; and mechanism for dislodging clothes from between the washing members after they same have been cleansed.

It is soughtl further in this invention to arrange washing members with actuating mechanism therefor located above the water y line to eliminate joints which would have to 30 be packed to prevent an outflow of liquid from within the machine. i j

The invention consists further in features of construction and combinationv of parts Vhereinafter described and claimed.v`

Inv the, drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through the washing machine as a whole; Fig. 2 is a plan view with the cover removed; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail in plan of the mechanism for imparting rotary movement to one of the washing members; Fig. Il is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 5 isa perspective view of aportion of themechanism employed to feed the clothes or fabricy into engagement with the washing members; and Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail in cross section of the 'trough or receptacle in which soap or other suitable saponaceous body is retained in engaging position adjacent tlie clothes to be The machine comprises a tank 7 of watertight constructionadapted to retain'therein Itached to the inside'of rthe tank.

a quantity of liquid, the preferred level of said liquid being indicated in Fig. 1, and an outlet is provided in the valve 8 adjacent In order that the the bottom of the tank.

whole operation ofy washing may be effected with the `least amount of splashing or spilling of liquid, a cover 9 is arranged over the tank to be secured by any suitable means.

Mounted within the tank is a drum l0 adapted to revolveabout a shaftll suitably secured at either end within journals 12 at- Tlie exteriorfof said drum is formed of a series of Acircumferential corrugatioiis 13, upon the raised portions of which are interspersed ysteps or notches 14 to .be more .fully hereinafter explained.' Positioned adjacent the drum .and preferably immediately lthereover is a longitudinally i extending arcuate shapedrubbing member 15v preferably trans` versely corrugated, vand adapted to be moved lengthwise across the upper face of the drum with a f reciprocating movement.

Mechanism for imparting this reciprocating movement is provided in the rod 1G. having one end thereof pivotally secured to the rubbing member, and the other end thereof eX- tending through a slot 17 formed in vthe side of the tank and, above the water line, to connect with the crank end 18 of a rotary vshaft 19 suitably journaled as vat 20, and to one ,endbfvwhich is preferably secu'reda fly 'wheel 21-to impartv a desirable amount of momentum to the sha"ft 19. Av suitable crank may be provided uponthe fly wheel 21` inl case it is.wislied to operate the machine by hand, but if the machine is ldesigned to be operated by power, a belt or other suitablemeans .of transmission may be fconnectedvas to the wheel 21. The arcuatevshaped rubbing membei' 15, as is lbest shown in Fig. 1, is located above the water line in the tank, so that the arm 16 which extends through to the. outside of the tank is above I the water line and is freev to move within the slotv 17 without danger of liquid passing therethrough.

Means for reinforcing the rubbing mem-- l ber and guiding the reciprocation thereof in .a plane ofpredetermined proximity to the drum areprovided in the`member22'which extends longitudinally of the rubbing niember; the ends of this member project beyond the rubbing member, one through the slot 17 and the other through a similarly formed slot 23 in the opposite side of the tank, These slots which are preferably elongated are so positioned that the ends of the members 22 which lie therein tend to maintain the rubbing member normally in an operating plane close to but free from the drum. The position of the rubbing member with respect to the drum may be shifted, however, according to the quantity of fabric passing between it and the drum. Normally it is held in close engagement with the drum through tension means 24 secured atthe end of the guide member upon the outside of the tank; but when a considerable amount of material is fed between the drum and rubbing member, the rubbing membermay yield under the pressure and against the tension of the springs 24 to operate in a plane farther away from the drum, this being possible because the slots 17 and 23 are designed to be suiiicient in lengthto permit of the ends of the member `22 shifting therein. 1n operation, the rubbing member will be reciprocated back andforth over the drum many times before the drum has turned a complete revolution, a saponaceous substance hereinafter described meanwhile engaging with the clothes being fed between the washing members and producing suds in quantity sulicient to insure a j thorough cleansing. Further means for guiding the reciprocatory movement of the rubbing member is pro vided in the arms 25 and 26 suitably arranged within the tank and having the ends 27 thereof pivotally secured adjacent the ends of the rubbing member, and the other ends 2S thereof secured as to brackets 29 positioned against the sides of the tank. The arm 26 is formed in the shape of a bell crank, having yits crank end 30 provided with a series of openings 31 within any one of which the end 32 of a pawl 83 maybe secured,` the acting end 434 of which isl adapted to engage with a ratchet wheel 35 formed on one end of the drum. yIn, order to prevent lateral displacement of the pawl 33 from the ratchet 35, the acting endy of the pawl is formed with ears ajadapted to overlie the ratchet wheel on either side thereof. The pawl may be adjusted with respect tothe bell crank in such manner as to provide a number of relative speeds for the drum, so that it is possible to regulate the movement of the washing member accordingto the character of the fabric to be washed.

The clothes or fabric to be washed are placed in the tank upon feeding bars 36 attached upon al crank shaft 37, the cranks of 'which throughout the length of Jthe shaft see alternately at about 180o to other. The crank shaft 37 is operated at one or both ends as by means of connecting rods 38 operating from a crank shaft 39 similar to the shaft 37 which may be driven at one end as by means of a chain 40 engaging with a sprocket 41 formed on the crank shaft and connected with a sprocket 42 formed on one end of the drum. A series of pins or projections 43 are formed on the engaging surfaces of the feeding bars and as the same are successively actuated by the crank shafts 37 and 39, the clothes lying thereupon are fed forwardly and upwardly by the said members and over their curved ends 44 positioned adjacent the drum 1 0, so that the clothes are laid upon the drum and beneath the rubbing member 15. n V y A trough or receptacle 45 is carried by the rubbing member adjacent one edge thereof, adapted to retain therein a sapona ceous body 46, such as soap, a portion 47 of which may protrude through an opening 48 formed in the lower portion of said trough to engage withvthe fabrics `to ybe washed. Since the trough is moved back `and forth with each reciprocation of therubbing inember, it follows that the clothes are thoroughly rubbed by the soap prior to being passed between the washing members'. The trough as illustrated in Fig'. 6 isdesigned to hold soap chips or cakes', but with suitable modification may be arranged to hold saponac'eous substances 1in other forms.

The steps or notches 22' formed on the raised corrugated portion of the drum are arranged each to present a surface at right angles to the periphery of the drum to assist in carrying the clothes or fabric over the drum and beneath the rubbing member, A series of teeth 49 positioned preferably close to the under side of the drum and which engage only the recessed portions of the corrugations formed thereon lserve to dislodge the clothes when they have been j carried around upon the drum and are cleansed;

fthese teeth are secured upon a partitionyO arranged to prevent clogging of the clothes with the feeding mechanism. l

The rwashing machine which has been described is seen to be compact and free from complication of parts.y 1t is'furthermore arranged in Isuch manner that the driving means-are located above the water line, so

as to eliminate jointswhichwould otherwise have to be packed. Except for the driving shaft upon the outside of the tank, all of the parts are housed under cover, so that little or no danger is presented to an operator who may stand close by'.

I claim:

In a washing machine, the combination of a lcireumferentiallyA crrugated rotatable draai, a transversely con-agate ru hing member arranged to be recprocatedlongimember, vand means for dislodging the tudinally of said drum, means for reciproclothes from the drum after the Washing eating` said rubbing member, means for inoperation, substantially as described.

termittently rotating said drum actuated lby ROBERT W. DAVIS. each alternate movement of said rubbing Witnesses:

member, means for automatically feeding THOMAS'A. BANNING, Jr.,

clothes .between said drum and rubbing EPHRAIM BANNING.

Copie: et this patent'may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents.

Washington, D. C." 

